Block system for railways.



No. 718,925. PATENTED JAN. 20, 1903.

H. J. FULLER.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 5, 1901.

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HARNETT J. FULLER, OF VVINOI-IESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

BLOCK SYSTEM FOR nalLWAYs SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,925, dated January 20, 1903.

Application filed March 5,1901. Serial No 49,92 N m l- To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARNETT J. FULLER, of \Vinchester, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Block Systems for Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric railways, and has for its object to provide for the automatic controlof trolley-cars operatingthereon.

Many of the suburban r cross-country electric railways are equipped with a single track having at intervals turnouts for the accommodation of two cars approaching in opposite direct-ions, and besides the constant danger of head-on collisions of cars on the same track much inconvenience and annoyance are caused by the attempt of the motorman on one car to leave one turnout upon the nonarrival of the car which should be approaching in the opposite direction and to reach the next turnout, with the result that the two cars meet upon a single track and one is compolled to back to the nearest turnout to permit the other to pass, thereby occasioning great delay and trouble to the passengers.

The primary object of this invention is to provide automatic block-signal mechanism for preventing a car from leaving a block or one section of track terminating in a turnout until the car which should be approaching in the opposite direction on the adjacent track section or block has reached the said turnout. To accomplish this, I provide a conductor which supplies the electric current to trolley-cars with two insulated sections, one located above the main track and the other above the track of the turnout, together with automatic switch mechanism by means of which the current is cut automatically from the insulated section above the track upon which the car is located when it reaches the turnout, whereby it will be impossible for the car to proceed or leave the block until the arrival of the approaching car. The invention, however, may be otherwise embodied, as will be apparent from the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which shows my system diagrammatically.

On the drawing, 1 1 represent the rails of a single-track railway, and 2 2- represent the tracks of the turnout-section of the railway, upon which a car approaching in the direction of the arrowA runs, the turnouts dividing the railway into blocks.

3 indicates a conductor for supplying current to the motors of the electric cars, and 4 indicates a branch or shunt circuit located above the turnout-tracks 2 2. In the conductors 3 and 4 are interposed the insulated sections 5 and 6, respectively, from which the current is normally cut out, as will be eX- plained, and which divide the conductor into insulated blocks.

7 indicates a multipohir switch having a movable contact on the end of a swinging support 9, fulcrumed at 10 and having a weight 11, which holds it normally in a vertical upright neutral position out of contact with the poles. This support may be provided with a semaphore or target 100. The poles 12 13 of the switch are connected, respectively, with the insulated section 6 5 by conductors 14 15, and the poles 16 17 are respectively connected with the conductors 3 and 4 by conductors 18 19. By moving the contact 8 to either extreme of movement the circuit will be closed through either the insulated section 5 or insu lated section 6, as will be readily understood. To operate the switch, I provide two electromagnets 20 21, adapted to attract a common armature 22011 the lower end of the swinging su pport 9. Electrical current is normally supplied to the coils of the electromagnet-s 20 21 through a branch or shunt circuit comprising the conductors 23 24 and the conductors 25 26, the conductor 25 being in circuit with the coils of magnet 20 and the conductor 26 being in circuit with the coils of magnet 21, so that the said coils are arranged in multiple arc. When the current is flowing through the coils of both magnets, which are placed at equal distances from armature 22, at which time the switch-lever occupies a vertical position, the weight 11 will be sufficient to prevent said lever from being moved in either direction; but when one of the branch circuits is broken the magnet in the other circuit receiving the whole force of the current will attract the armature 22 and swing the movable contact 8 into position to close the circuit between poles 13 17 or 12 16, as the case may be. Circuit changers or interrupters 27 28 are placed in the branch circuit 25, similar interrupters or circuit-changers 29 30 being interposed in the branch circuit 26. The in.- terrupters 27 and 28 are placed close beside one of the tracks 1 at a slight distance beyond the end of the insulated section 5 in position to be engaged by the wheels of the trolley-car upon the said tracks 1 1, and the interrupters 29 30 are placed in corresponding position close beside, one of the tracks 2 of the turnout. It will be noted, however, that while I have referred to the circuit-changer illustrated in Letters Patent No. 283,152 I do so merely for the purpose of illustration and do not limit myself to such device, as any device operated by a moving car and serving to break or interrupt the circuit comes within the spirit of my invention. From this it will be seen that when a car approaching in the direction of the arrow A reaches the turnout and depresses the interrupter 29 the branch circuit 26 will be open or broken, and the full force of the current passing through circuit 25 will cause the switch member 8 to be moved into contact with the poles 13 and 17 to close the circuit through the insulated section 5. Even when the current is restored to circuit 26 the magnet 20 will continue to hold the switch in the position to which it was moved. When the trolley of the car reaches the insulated section 6, it receives no current, said section being cut out or dead, and the car remains stationary. Upon the approach of a car upon the track in the direction of the arrow B the wheels will engage the interrupter 28, and the circuit 25 will be broken, whereupon the armature 22 will be released and immediately attracted by magnet 21, and theswitch-lever 9 will be swung into position to cause the contact 8 to close the circuit between poles 12 and 16, where it will be held, and current will be supplied to insulated section 6 and cut out from insulated section 5. Then the car upon the turnout will be supplied with current and will be able to proceed upon its way. As soon as the car upon the turnout reaches the interrupter 30 the movable contact 8 will be reversed and current will be supplied to the insulated section 5 to permit the car on the main track to proceed. In order to restore the movable member of the switch to neutral position, I interpose in the circuit 23 24 two interrupters or circuit-changers 31 32, similar to those heretofore referred to and which are located at the side of one of the tracks 1 beyond the ends of the turnout or the track-switches. Hence when the last car leaves the tracks at the turnout the current is momentarily broken through both the electromagnets, and the switch-support 9 swings into vertical neutral position, and the current is out oft from both insulated sections.

I may combine with the automatic switch mechanism the signal mechanism illustrated in my application filed concurrently herewith and also the indicator mechanism mounted upon the roof of the car, which will drop immediately upon the failure of current to the motor, so that even in theevent of one of the branch circuits being short-circuited the motorman would be notified of the abnormal condition of the apparatus.

The system herein described may be employed in divers ways and may be embodied in many forms, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus explained the nature of the in vention and described away of constructing and using the same, although without at tempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or allot the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is" 1. A system comprising an electric railway having a track, a conductor divided by insulated sections into blocks, and means controlled by a car on one block for cutting out the current from the insulated section at the end of said block being approached by said car, whereby the latter is prevented from further movement on reaching the said insulated section.

2. A system comprising a single-track electric railway divided into blocks by turnouts, and automatic mechanism for cutting the supply of current from a car when it reaches a turnout, until the arrival of another car at said turnout.

3. A system comprising a sin gle-track electric railway divided into blocks by turnouts, and having in operative relation to the tracks at each turnout insulated sections in the conductor from which current is supplied to the car motors, and automatic mechanism by means of which current is cut out from said sections to prevent the first-arriving car from leaving a turnout until the arrival thereat of an approaching car.

4. A system comprising a single-track railway having a turnout and having its electrical conductor provided with two insulated sections at said turnout in operative relation to the tracks thereat, and automatic switch mechanism for said insulated sections by which the current is automatically cut out from a car on either track at the turnout until the arrival of a car on the other track.

5. A system comprising a single-track railway having a turnout and having its electrical conductor provided with two insulated sections at said turnout in operative relation to the tracks thereat, and car-controlled electromagnetic switch mechanism for cutting off the supply of current through said sections to the first-arriving car at the turnout until the arrival of an oppositely-moving car at said turnout.

6. A system comprising a single-track railway having a turnout and having its electrical conductor provided with two insulated sections at said turnout in operative relation to the tracks thereat, a switch for normally cutting off the supply of current to both of said insulated sections, and means controlled by a car on either track at the turnout for operating said switch to close the circuit through the insulated section for a car on the other track.

7. A system comprising, a single-track railway havinga turnout and havingits electrical conductor provided with two insulated sections at said turnout in operative relation to the tracks thereat, a switch for closing the circuit through said insulated sections alternately,and car-controlled means for operating said switch to cut the current from the insulated section for the first-arriving car at said turnout to temporarily prevent the car from passing said turnout.

8. A system comprisinga single-track railway havinga turnout and havingits electrical conductor provided with two insulated sections at said turnout in operative relation to the tracks thereat, an electromagnetic switch for closing the circuit through said insulated sections alternately, and car-controlled electric circuits including the coils of the electromagnetic switch, said elements being combined and related whereby upon the arrival of a car at the turnout, said car is temporarily deprived of power.

9. An electric-railway system comprising a conductor having a plurality of insulated sections, and car-controlled electromagnetic switch mechanism operated automatically upon the arrival of a carat on'e insulated section forcutting the current from said section.

10. An electric-railway system comprising a conductor having a plurality of insulated sections, from which the electrical current is normally cut out, and automatic switch mechanism operated by a car at one section to cut the current from said section and to supply current to another section for a car thereat to permit said car to proceed.

11. An electric-railway system comprising a conductor having insulated sections, and means controlled by a car for depriving said car of power on reaching a predetermined section.

12. A single-track electric-railway system comprising a conductor having parallel insulated sections,switch mechanism normally depriving said sections of current, means operated upon the arrival of a car at one section to cause the supply of current to the parallel section, and means operated by the arrival of a car at said last-mentioned section to supply current to the first-mentioned section'to permit the car thereat to proceed.

13. A single-track electric-railway system comprising a conductor having parallel insulated sections, switch mechanism normally depriving said sections of current, means operated upon the arrival of a car at one section to cause the supply of current to the parallel section, means operated by the arrival of a car at said last-mentioned section to cut the current from said section and to supply the current to the first-mentioned section, and means operated by the passage of the car from said first-mentioned section to supply current again to said other section.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARNETT J. FULLER.

Witnesses:

MARCUS 13. MAY, A. D. HARRISON. 

